People: No defence

One company boss who echoes the anger of the Federation of Small Businesses and MPs over wasteful and inefficient procurement by the Ministry of Defence is Eric Kohn, chairman of ambitious tantalum producer Noventa. A multilingual engineer and corporate turnaround specialist who has restored the fortunes of such companies as Holmes Protection and OmniLabs Group, Kohn has spent many years as a reserve parachute officer in the army and has seen the practical consequences of the MoD’s lackadaisical practices.

‘I am not surprised by multibillion black holes,’ he comments ruefully. He insists the problem is that experienced Whitehall warriors can always ensnare any incoming Minister of Defence who tries to initiate reform and embroil him in some embarrassing fiasco.

‘Yes Minister was so right,’ reflects Kohn, who combines heading AIM-quoted Noventa with a board role at Toronto-listed aerospace group Avcorp Industries. He says the only remedy is to switch to a US-style system, where senior civil servants are political appointees and thus accountable to the legislature and electorate – but he is not holding his breath for it to happen.

Kohn prefers to contemplate what he argues is a rosy future for tantalum and Noventa’s current fundraising plans.